1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel tank mounting structure of a saddle-ride-type vehicle, and more particularly to a mounting structure arranged on a front side of a fuel tank.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been known a fuel tank mounting structure where a fuel tank is supported on a main frame which constitutes a vehicle body frame, a bracket is mounted on a front end portion of the fuel tank, the bracket is fixed to the vehicle body frame from above using bolts, a buffer member is mounted in a hole formed in a flange portion which is mounted on a lower portion of a side portion of the fuel tank in a downwardly extending manner, and an upper surface of the buffer member is brought into contact with a bottom surface of the fuel tank and a lower surface of the buffer member is brought into contact with an upper surface of the main frame (see JP-A-2013-124078).
In the structure where the buffer member is mounted on the flange as in the case of the above-mentioned JP-A-2013-124078, it is necessary to position the flange on the upper surface of the main frame such that the buffer member overlaps with the main frame. Accordingly, to align the position of the flange with the upper surface of the main frame, a shape of the fuel tank is restricted. Further, the buffer member is also required to satisfy the particular arrangement relationship with the upper surface of the main frame and hence, the arrangement of the buffer member is restricted. Still further, the buffer member is mounted on the flange by forming the hole in the flange and by engaging the buffer member with the hole from a side and hence, the hole formed in the flange and an engaging portion of the buffer member are observed from the outside unless no measure is taken whereby the structure influences the appearance of a vehicle. A particular cover becomes necessary to conceal the hole formed in the flange and the engaging portion of the buffer member. The invention has been made to overcome these drawbacks.